The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 97: Conditions

Chapter 97: Conditions

"I am, or rather was, Evan Greene."

Silence filled the room, only Lane’s last words reverberating in the air. Damien just stood there, staring at Lane, speechless from the shock. While the information wasn’t new to him, the announcement came out as a surprise, completely unexpected...

Lane just waited for the man to process it and recover. He himself was tense, nervously fiddling with his hands, and wanted nothing more but to have it finally all done and over with, but didn’t want to rush the man. What if Damien changed his mind and decided to report him now? Not that it was likely to happen, but...

"Let’s sit down first," Damien finally said, turning around and dropping heavily behind his desk, Lane taking a seat opposite him. "So. Why are you telling me now?"

"Well... I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. It’s just... not an easy thing to talk about, you know?" Lane scratched his neck, chuckling nervously. "I haven’t told anyone about it before..."

"You... haven’t?" Damien’s voice sounded a bit weird, full of suppressed emotions. He didn’t press on the issue though, and instead asked, "Is that your ability?"

"Hmm?"

Seeing Lane lift his brows in confusion, Damien specified, "I mean your original one. From your original body. Before you... died for the first time."

"Ah... To be fair, I’m not sure." Lane shook his head with a half chuckle, half sigh. "I did indeed awaken before my death... But I was believed to have no ability."

"But your Mana levels..."

"I died before I could even be tested, so I was never registered," Lane quickly explained. What he said wasn’t that far from the truth, actually, so he couldn’t let Damien start going through the databases, checking all the low-ranking Espers with only basic physical enhancement...

"Anyway! It can be seen as a somewhat... unsettling ability, so I’ve been worried about how people would react once they know. I thought, well, I still think so, that it would be better to keep it a secret..." Lane glanced furtively at Damien.

Should he even be mentioning it? But it wasn’t as if Damien never THOUGHT about reporting Lane. So he wasn’t exactly bringing the issue to his attention, but rather trying to induce his pity and compassion... For Damien’s own sake, since he didn’t want Lane to disappear. Because if it all were to be reported, then Lane would HAVE to disappear, whether he wanted to or not.

Unaware of the ’favor’ Lane was doing to him, Damien furrowed his brows, giving the man in front of him a serious gaze. "Wouldn’t it be easier for you if you reported it to the Association? You wouldn’t have to leave your previous life behind."

"My previous life? And what about it?" Lane scoffed, forgetting himself a bit for a moment. "I still have more or less the same job. That apartment, equipment, or saved money I had? Well, I can get by just fine without them. As for the friends and family..." Realizing that he started ranting, Lane shot a quick glance at Damien. Thankfully, the man’s expression was still the same, so fixing his tone, Lane continued, "They were never mine to begin with. It’s better that they never know. What good would it do for them to find out the truth now?"

"But what about your real family?"

"Ah... They... wouldn’t care whether I’m dead or alive." Or rather, they’d be glad if Lane dropped dead.

At Lane’s words, Damien’s frown finally eased, his sternness slowly dissipating. He didn’t press on the subject any further - after all, he himself must have been no stranger to complicated family relations, judging by his change of surname, as well as his reaction to the mention of his father by Miles Allen back in the Eldenveil...

He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temple as he pondered over it for a while longer. "Alright. It can all stay between us."

’Yes!’ Lane had the urge to jump up to the ceiling, or hug the man to celebrate. Preferably both. Still, not wanting to appear too enthusiastic, he focused all of his effort on appearing serious.

Besides, Damien was not done yet, so perhaps it was a bit early for celebration?

"However." Damien put his hand down, his clear emerald eyes piercing Lane. "There are a few conditions."

Lane gulped loudly, holding his breath. "What are they?"

"First, you need to stay at the Association. In the Headquarters, preferably on my team. The General Staff would also be acceptable, but I assume you wouldn’t want that anyway. No running away to the Forbidden Zones, or anywhere else."

"Okay." The first condition was way too easy - it was what Lane intended to do anyway - so he nodded without any hesitation.

"Next, if... something happens to you again... Then I want you to report to me as soon as you can. With your... new identity, I mean." As Damien spoke, his eyes started dodging to the side, his voice losing its earlier commanding sternness. It was clear he wasn’t the best at making demands, not when it concerned his personal matters... Cause, all things considered, this all boiled down to what he personally wanted.

"This..." Though it wasn’t an unexpected request, Lane still couldn’t help but hesitate. It wasn’t that he was against it. The only problem was that... "I can agree to it, but you must know that the new possession doesn’t always happen immediately after death."

In case of a sudden death, Lane needed to have some time to find a suitable body, after all. Maintaining two connections at the same time was impossible, so keeping a ’backup identity’ would be hard to accomplish as well.

Damien’s brows twitched at the mention of ’death’ coming from Lane’s mouth again, but he soon exhaled softly, as if in relief. "Then when does it happen?"

"Hmm... It depends. I think that my consciousness attaches itself to a new person right away, but I don’t ’wake up’ until they awaken... Well, unless they already are Awakened, then there’s only like an hour or so gap? That’s how it was this time, with Xavier. But it’s generally out of my control." Lane lowered his head, but his eyes continued to observe Damien carefully from underneath his short, dark lashes, scanning his face to try to deduce what was going on through his head.

Did he buy it? The explanation should have sounded logical enough... Lane put quite a lot of effort into spinning this tale, trying to come up with something believable, but also as morally acceptable as possible. Because if he were to tell the truth, Damien, being the righteous and uptight man that he was, might not have let it slide, even if he liked Lane.

"...I understand," Damien finally answered. He seemed convinced, at least to some extent, at least for the time being. There was a chance he might bring it up again in the future, but Lane would be prepared.

What Lane wasn’t prepared though, was Damien’s next question. "Then what is your real name?"

"H-huh?" Taken aback, Lane blinked a good few times, staring at Damien.

"Your real name. Who you originally were. Before you... possessed anyone."

’...Fuck,’ Lane swore inwardly.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. It was obvious that ’Evan Greene’ was not his real identity, but just a possession - he did mention that he ’awakened’ shortly before his ’death’, so he couldn’t possibly truly be Evan Greene, the A-rank Guide. Not to mention, he was way too adjusted to the situation, as if he experienced it at the very least once or twice before. So, he should have predicted that such a question might arise, and prepare accordingly, but...

Lane clearly didn’t think things through. Although he took his time to prepare for the conversation, most of that time was spent mulling over whether he should do it or not, and next, how to present his ability in the most acceptable way. Therefore, there wasn’t enough time left for anything else...

’Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!’ Curses flew through his brain, as he scrambled through his memories, trying to pick a suitable identity. But, although he remembered all of his past possessions, he didn’t even remember their full names, or any important details he should know if he grew up as ’them’! He remembered how their lives looked like, but that wouldn’t be enough to pose as ’them’, not in the long term! It had to be someone he knew well, who died a few years ago, and preferably who also had a decently looking face!

Lane’s lips twisted in a nervous smile. He fiddled with his hands, staring at the desk in front of him. A droplet of sweat slowly trickled down his neck, sliding under his collar.

Fucked, he was fucked, wasn’t he?

Perhaps he should have taken longer to prepare!